Paris - Part Two

Paris - Part Two

On Sunday the kids were up and ready to go. We started with a walk to the Eiffel Tower. Very short line. W. wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower when it was misty and foggy. He got his wish. Again, it's worth the trade-off - no crowds.

The mandatory photo of the family at the top of the Eiffel Tower. The kids really enjoyed seeing the city in front of them and looking at all the details from above.

We walked from the 2nd level to the 1st level. It's fun to see the ironwork close up.

First we climbed the towers of Notre Dame. It is a long climb to the top and everyone was huffing and puffing. Must be the altitude. The gargoyles are just too cool. One of the interesting things is all the little fossils in the limestone used to construct the cathedral.

After the Eiffel Tower we took the train to Notre Dame. Again, because of the rain there was almost no one there. It was a little weird.

After you've climbed enough, you can climb some more and get to the tippy top. The view is quite impressive (especially when it's not raining!)

The bells, the bells! Yes, this is the big bell at the top of the tower at Notre Dame.

Having children with you when you travel opens up doors that would stay shut otherwise. We got to feed these little birds, and they actually land on your hand to take bites of cake. The man who helped us do all of this was very kind. The girls in the background are some kind of scouts who are collecting money for some sick kids organization. There is a lot of that in France and Belgium - people collecting money for good causes. I usually have no idea what they are collecting for, but happily give them some coins 'cause they're so darn cute!

After we got down from the towers, we tried to feed the pigeons some bread we had with us. Then, this very nice French man, who had loads of rice and cakes for the birds, shared his stuff with us and taught us how to feed the birds.

Well, we managed to go to Notre Dame and never go inside the cathedral. We did go under it to visit the "crypt," which is an archeological excavation of Roman and early French foundations. Frankly a little boring. Might be a good place to escape the heat and crowds in the summer.

After our visit to Notre Dame it was time to gather our stuff and catch the train back to Brussels. Hint: If you do this, try to stay near the train station in Paris (Gare du Nord). Because we were at the Novotel near the Eiffel Tower, we had to take the train back there to get our backpacks (which we had checked with the concierge). Then we had to take the train to the train station. It meant about an hour of riding around, which could have been avoided if we had stayed in a hotel with a better location. Lesson learned - make reservations well in advance!

The train ride was fun, the dogs survived the kennel (I think Rena may have found a boyfriend, she was as energetic as a puppy when I picked her up!), and we are looking forward to Paris in the springtime. As we learn the ropes, we'll probably be able to drive down for the day or for a one-night stay, saving a lot of money!

To go to Paris Part One, click here.

Click to see:

- the move

- pictures of our hometown, Braine L'Alleud